Story Notes:

Since this is an AU, some characters might come out different than in the original set of events, but I'll still try not to deviate too much from canon behaviour.

This is all set around four years after the original game starts, although almost none of the events in the Compilation have taken place here. Sephiroth didn't go insane because of Jenova, a lot of characters that died during Crisis Core and afterwards are alive, and some died earlier. Some won't even appear throughout, at least not physically-they might get a mention here and there but it's not my intention to bring back everyone from Cloud's team into this.

A note regarding Aerith and Sephiroth's names. I had Sephiroth take Gast's last name (I'm assuming Faremis is his last name and not his given name-even if that's not the case, I'm not going to change it later on) while choosing Gainsborough to be Ifalna's last name. Aerith takes her mother's last name over her father's because she wants to continue the Cetra line. Elmyra won't be making an appearance in this story for obvious reasons but I didn't want to change Aerith's name.

Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing but the plot bunnies hopping around. All characters and previous scenarios belong to Square-Enix, Nomura-sama and Kojima-sensei.

Chapter Summary:

Overwhelmed with the plans for security for the upcoming Energy Summit in Modeoheim, Vincent remembers how he got where he is right now. Way out from left field, Sephiroth invites him for drinks and strange hot flashes begin to bother the otherwise cool Director of the Turks.

—

Vincent Valentine pressed the button on the elevator's keypad that would take it to his office's floor and slumped against the cool glass surface of the carriage that overlooked Midgar, heaving a tired and annoyed sigh. He knew he shouldn't have accepted the position of Director of the Turks; bureaucratic work really wasn't his forte. However, with Veld past the age of retiring and Tseng being assigned as Rufus Shinra's bodyguard, there really wasn't anyone else. Sure, he could have declined Rufus's offer and let the department, along with all its employees, in the hands of Heidegger, but that would've been unconscionable to say the least. Despite any misgivings Vincent might have about the company he found himself working for once again, his loyalty to his fellow Turks ran deep. Nearly thirty years in a coffin could and would not change that fact.

Then there was the whole mess that led him to the aforementioned coffin, of course. He had been awoken not four years before from a forced slumber imposed upon him by Professors Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent after they killed him and then saw fit to experiment on him, turning him into something that was both less and more human. He had somehow summed it up by thinking he became more than a human in gaining Galian and Chaos at the expense of some of his basic humanity. It was a weird concept, at any rate, and if thirty years of solitude hadn't helped him come to a logic conclusion no extra amount of time would help, so he'd rather not dwell on it much. Except he was reminded of it daily—whenever he looked in the mirror he was aware of the fact that his body did not age, eternally stuck shy of thirty years old. And then there were both Galian and Chaos's thoughts and memories meshing with his.

Not a lot of people knew about his unfortunate fate at the hands of two of Shinra's top scientists. There was Rufus, who of course had access to all company files, and Veld knew because Vincent had been his partner prior to disappearing and he felt no need to hide his condition from him. Cloud Strife and Kunsel Larouche, both Soldiers Second Class, had found out the hard way during their trek from Nibelheim to Rocket Town after the younger men found Vincent at the old Shinra Mansion and were ordered to bring him back to Midgar. They had run into a pack of Nibel wolves and during the struggle Vincent found himself losing control of Galian and transforming in front of the younger men. Luckily, Vincent had gained a modicum of sway over the beast and managed to subdue him after the wolves were disposed of. Cloud and Kunsel had read some of Hojo's files on Vincent back at the mansion and understood where the change came from; that, along with Vincent's reassurances that Galian had come forth only because the gunman was still weakened from all the time spent in a coffin, put the young Soldiers at ease.

Lastly, the four Soldiers First Class—Sephiroth Faremis, Angeal Hewley, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Zack Fair—had been briefed when the decision to rehire Vincent had been made. Cloud, being Zack's close friend, had been there to make sure they understood the need for secrecy and to vouch for Vincent's mental stability. All in all, that meeting went rather well, except for the fact that Vincent felt Sephiroth paying him close attention ever since.

This was bothersome for Vincent for a simple reason: it was Sephiroth's biological parents who played around with him and then left him to rot in a coffin for almost three decades. And they had done it because Vincent had the misfortune of falling in love with Lucrecia without knowing she was Hojo's wife. It had been terrible for Vincent to find this out, but it was nothing compared to the horror and disgust he felt when he found out they were behind the Jenova Project and were planning to use themselves and their child as guinea pigs.

Taking a stand against the woman he loved and her deranged husband had gotten him nowhere; he was killed, revived, and turned into something not quite human and, once they were done with him, Lucrecia and Hojo went ahead and played god with their unborn son. A son who grew up to be quite possibly the best fighter and strategist the world had ever seen, not to mention an unfairly attractive man. Intelligent and witty, it was a joy to hear the man talk with anyone, whether subalterns, peers, or superiors. Fortunately, he seemed to have dodged a biological bullet by not inheriting his parents' crazy and malicious streak.

Speaking of Sephiroth's parents, Vincent wasn't ashamed to admit that he was glad they were both dead. His juvenile love for her notwithstanding, Vincent couldn't muster an ounce of sadness for Lucrecia's dead shortly after Sephiroth's birth. As for Hojo, an Avalanche raid had claimed his life some fifteen years after he'd consigned Vincent to his coffin, leaving Sephiroth in the care of Professor Gast Faremis, who the Turks had tracked down under President Shinra's orders.

Gast returned to Midgar with his wife Ifalna Gainsborough and Aerith, their thirteen-year-old daughter, and adopted Sephiroth as his own. It wasn't easy, but Gast and his family were able to undo the damage Hojo had inflicted on his son's psyche, allowing him to become Shinra's top ranking general without losing his sanity or humanity. In fact, Sephiroth had grown very fond of his adoptive family, even adopting Gast's last name as his own, as well as Ifalna's respect for the life of the Planet. Having Angeal and Genesis close by helped, as well, as they had fallen victim to Shinra's Science Department's experiments at the hands of Professor Hollander and knew what Sephiroth'd had to endure growing up in the clutches of a madman.

The three of them—Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis—quickly climbed the ranks of Shinra's army and became a tight-knit troupe capable of dealing with whatever the company required of them. By the time they were in their late twenties, they were joined by Zack Fair and together they trained and led the best army Shinra had ever seen. They ended the Wutai conflict swiftly and with minimal loses for both sides, ensuring Shinra's continued growth and development. It was after this that President Shinra passed away, leaving the company in Rufus Shinra's hands.

Just like Sephiroth, Rufus had grown up largely influenced by Professor Faremis and Ifalna's ideology regarding the Planet. Ever since he was a teenager he heard them tell his father about the dangers of syphoning and processing mako. While his father continuously ignored their warnings in favour of lining his pockets with money, Rufus listened to them intently and took their words to heart. This led him to spend some years at Cosmo Canyon under Bugenhagen's tutelage. After his father's death, Rufus returned to Migdar to take over as Shinra's president and one of his first moves was to vow to find alternate energy sources to mako in order to stop draining the life of the Planet. For this he enlisted the help of Reeve Tuesti, relieving him from his position as Director of Urban Development and appointing him as head of the newly created Research and Development Department. Rufus instructed Reeve to work closely with the Science Department, and he asked Ifalna and Aerith to join the R&D area as consultants, along with Shalua Rui and Bugenhagen.

It was around this time that Rufus ordered Lazard Deusericus, his half-brother on his father's side, to launch a clean-up mission of all Shinra owned properties, particularly those used by the Science Department. Rufus was aware that stopping mako extraction would take its toll on the four Soldiers First Class, since their training and development included the use of the substance in order to enhance their abilities. Shinra was a large company and by no means devoid of enemies, and Rufus wasn't about to let his elite force be taken from him as a side effect of his efforts to preserve the life of the Planet. Besides, he more or less grew up alongside Sephiroth and considered him a close friend, and he didn't want him or the other three to suffer needlessly.

Lazard sent Cloud and Kunsel to inspect the Shinra Mansion at Nibelheim. Cloud had been born and raised in Nibelheim so he was well acquainted with the town and its surrounding areas, making him the ideal candidate for the mission. Kunsel was sent with him at Zack's request; the young First was close friends with both Seconds and he had more or less taken it upon himself to look after Cloud given that the younger man had difficulties making it into the Soldier program. Cloud appreciated Zack's concern and welcomed Kunsel's presence because visiting his hometown was distressing for him ever since his mother passed away two years earlier during a fire that consumed most of the town. The fact that Shinra had repaired the city in record time and no trace of the fire remained made Cloud even more uneasy, because it made it seem as if nothing had happened and his entire childhood had been a fantasy of sorts.

While checking the mansion, the Soldiers found tons of files left behind by Hojo and Lucrecia. Most of them pertained to the Jenova Project but there were a couple that spoke of another experiment conducted by the couple. Following a cryptic message left behind by Hojo, Cloud found a room filled with coffins and in one of them he found Vincent. Although disoriented, Vincent found something familiar about Cloud. Upon hearing the youth's name, he realised he'd met Cloud's mother during his assignment at Nibelheim. She was one of the few townspeople who wasn't afraid of him for being a Turk and was kind to him. This led Vincent to spend a good deal of time with her whenever he had free time from his obligations to the scientists at the mansion; he even helped patch up her roof before a particularly nasty rainstorm.

Cloud vaguely remembered his mother mentioning a well-mannered Turk who spent several months in the village before mysteriously vanishing. She brought him up whenever a rainstorm came, and now he knew why. Hearing this and other stories made Cloud instantly warm up to Vincent. When the former Turk told him some of his ordeal at hands of Hojo and his wife, Cloud felt guilty about having to take him back to Midgar even if both scientists were now dead. Vincent, however, didn't seem to mind and even appeared curious about the prospect.

In truth, Vincent wanted answers as to Sephiroth's upbringing as well as the fate of the Turks. He was largely relieved to find things had turned out as best as possible under the circumstances and was prepared to try to find his place in society after twenty-eight years of limbo.

However, things wouldn't be so easy.

He began feeling ill a few days after arriving in Midgar and he had no idea what was wrong. He was still at Shinra Headquarters awaiting debriefing with at least two departments so he had no choice but to go to the labs to try to find medical assistance. Thankfully for him, Professor Faremis was in and agreed to be his attending physician. After extensive physical exams and with help from Hojo's notes, they found out that Vincent's body was going through a circadian rhythm readjustment. Basically, after nearly thirty years of sleeping round the clock with far and in between periods of wakefulness, Vincent's metabolism was trying to get used to a regular day-and-night cycle. Since he wasn't technically ill, there was no real cure and all he had to do was wait it out. Gast insisted on keeping him in the medical wing of the Shinra Building but Vincent refused to be kept anywhere that resembled a lab or a hospital. Understanding his reluctance, Gast cleared things with Rufus and Vincent was provided a room in one of the residential floors of the building.

It took him six months to be able to sleep for more than fifteen minutes at a time, and to do so at night and not at random times during the day. It was another two months before the nightmares featuring Hojo, Lucrecia, and a rampaging Galian accompanied by a bloodthirsty Chaos receded. Three more months before he taught his body that three meals a day were a necessity and not punishment; all the same, he still forgot to eat sometimes, which resulted in his collapsing several times in his office. He still couldn't spend large amounts of time under direct sunlight without sunscreen or clothes that covered most of his body, and he had to recur to sleeping pills at least once a week, but all in all he was functional once more about a year after his return to the land of the living.

In that time he had managed to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with Chaos. Vincent would allow him a few hours a week to take over his body and stretch his limbs far away from innocent bystanders; in return, Chaos would tame Galian and keep him dormant so he wouldn't try to take over Vincent's body unless the gunman needed his strength for whatever reason.

Once he was deemed "cured", Vincent was called to a meeting with Rufus, Lazard, Veld, and Gast. Apparently, they all wanted Vincent to return to Shinra's ranks as Director of the Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department. He tried to refuse without even hearing their offer, but Veld played the 'we used to be partners' card and he was forced to at least hear them out. He was promised a good salary and mostly clerical work with minimal field labor, as well as free rein to investigate anything pertaining to the experiments performed on him. Gast also promised to help him out with whatever health issues that might arise further down the road and assured him that only he, Gast, and his most trusted associates would have access to Vincent himself and to his files.

Vincent had planned to leave Shinra and to spend his time researching everything he could about Chaos. During the physical exams conducted by Professor Faremis, it had been discovered that Lucrecia had grafted protomateria unto Vincent's body in order to stabilise the Weapon. After talking things over with Chaos, Vincent found out that the protomateria was growing weak and would have to be recharged to avoid potentially life threatening conditions. He had no idea how to go about it, but having all of Shinra's resources at his disposal would make things considerably easier.

He was still pondering this when Veld decided to bring out the big guns by saying that if Vincent didn't take his position as Director of the Turks, the division would be handed over to Heidegger, Head of the Public Safety Maintenance Department. Vincent blanched; he knew Heidegger from before his imprisonment and had the misfortune of running into the beastly man several times since his return. Leaving the Turks in his hands was tantamount to a death sentence for each and every member, something Veld knew Vincent would do anything to avoid. Out of curiosity and, in a way, testing the waters in case he decided to leave Shinra at a later time, Vincent asked why Tseng couldn't take the job. Rufus was the one to answer, stating Veld's current second-in-command had been assigned as his bodyguard and, while he would continue most of his field duties as a Turk, his main assignment would be to keep Rufus safe, particularly in trips out of town.

Knowing he had been cornered by three of the men in the room, Vincent resigned himself to his fate and accepted the position of Director of the Turks. That had been nearly three years ago and, while he couldn't say that he truly regretted it, there were days when Vincent really wished he had said no.

Today was one of those days. It was only midday but he had already been in two meetings regarding Avalanche's attacks on Gongaga and Fort Condor. In spite of Rufus's assurances to the world that all of Shinra's mako reactors would be shutdown within the next five to seven years, Avalanche continued to target Shinra facilities the world over, causing enormous financial loses for the company, not to mention the unnecessary loss of innocent lives. Both he and Lazard were largely made responsible for this so he had to collaborate with him to try to come up with better strategies to protect Shinra's assets. Lazard was a very intelligent and capable man, which made their meetings bearable and even amicable, but the stress brought on by the knowledge that Avalanche seemed to always be one step ahead of them took a toll on everyone.

The second meeting he'd had was with Scarlet, Head of the Weapons Development Department, and Heidegger. After the deceased Hojo and Lucrecia, Scarlet and Heidegger were the people Vincent hated the most in all of Shinra—perhaps in the whole world. Scarlet was rude and cold hearted and seemed to delight in the destruction her weapons caused, not caring in the least that the initial spirit of her department was protection rather than extermination. As for Heidegger, he was brash, loud, and irritating, and hated the Turks with a passion. He used to be in charge of the military, but after Rufus took over the presidency, he passed the leadership of the military to Lazard and left Heidegger in charge of the Midgar Police Department only. Since then, Lazard had been added to Heidegger's long list of people he hated; Vincent made the list the second he was appointed Director of the Turks and not a day went by when Heidegger didn't find fault with the Head Turk's work.

This particular meeting had been long and specially stressful for Vincent because Scarlet wanted the Turks to try some new weapons that seemed shady at best, and Heidegger criticised each Turks' performance, deeming them nothing more than assassins for hire with no brains. Vincent had to find ways to deny Scarlet's request without incurring in her wrath while finding it within himself not to put three bullets between Heidegger's eyes. He cut the meeting short as soon as he could and rushed to the elevator to seek the comfort of his office.

He pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the elevator and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to try to calm himself. He had nearly achieved a neutral state when he felt the elevator jerk to a stop. With a frown, he looked to the door and saw it open eight stories before his floor to allow Sephiroth in. As it always happened when he was in the presence of the General, Vincent felt immediately uncomfortable. Not to seem rude, he nodded towards the younger man and mumbled a greeting; Sephiroth eyed him curiously and nodded back, not saying a word. After pressing the button for his floor, the silver haired man leaned on the wall opposite to Vincent, folding his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.

In the almost four years since he'd been back to Midgar, Vincent had only spoken to Sephiroth during formal meetings. Whenever they met on hallways or elevators, they barely exchanged greetings. All the same, Vincent kept himself informed of Sephiroth's progress through several sources, mainly Cloud and the reports shared between the different departments. He would also ask about him to Professor Gast, given that they were officially family. A part of him still felt guilty for not being able to stop Hojo and Lucrecia for using themselves and their son as test subjects for their crazy theories but he couldn't get himself to even bring up the subject with the younger man.

Given this state of affairs, it was a surprise that Sephiroth decided to try his hand at small talk with the Head Turk.

"How did your meeting with Scarlet and Heidegger go, Director?"

Doing his best to seem unaffected by this deviation from their standard routine, Vincent shook his head minutely. "Neither of them is dead and neither am I, for that matter. I would claim it a success."

Anyone who said Vincent Valentine had no sense of humour had no idea what they were talking about. He even managed to make the General crack a smile.

"Indeed," Sephiroth said. "I wonder why Rufus keeps them around."

"He can't get rid of them until he can make sure that they won't be a threat to himself or the company in the future," Vincent replied. He had figured that out on his own upon his return and Rufus had confirmed it when Vincent had asked shortly after his appointment. "They're not as easily replaced as Palmer was. That lump of a man is an idiot and had no business being Head of the Space Program. Captain Highwind, on the other hand, is more than qualified."

Sephiroth looked at him with the same curious gaze he always seemed to have for him, but there was a certain appreciation in it, as well.

"I see. At any rate, Lazard tells me you have some interesting ideas regarding security for next month's summit on alternate energy sources."

"They need to be greatly refined," Vincent said, waving his hand in dismissal of what he thought of as misplaced flattery. "I'm going back to my office to work on them and send the revised plan to him before the workday is over."

"Any plans after that?"

Vincent had been looking out the window when Sephiroth's question came and he found himself whirling his head around faster and with more force than was wise. After the light dizzy spell passed, Vincent looked carefully at Sephiroth, trying to gauge the intention behind the question. Coming up empty, all he could do was reply.

"Not particularly. Just going home and trying to remember to have dinner before going to sleep. Professor Faremis will have my head if I skip any more meals before my next physical."

A small, fond smile curved Sephiroth's lips. "Father is rather strict with his patients, yes. Myself included."

"He cares for his patients' well-being; that's the mark of a good physician." He paused and, not knowing how else to follow that thread, he returned to Sephiroth's question. "What are your plans, General?"

"Ah. Well, I was hoping you could join me for drinks after work. We haven't talked much in these four years in spite of having quite a few things in common. I would like to remedy that, if you wouldn't mind."

Vincent tensed and averted his gaze from Sephiroth again. "Are you sure that's a good idea, General?"

"If you are worried about offending me in case your views about my biological parents should turn out as grim as those of pretty much everyone else who knew them, don't be. I am well aware of my origins, Director Valentine, and have no delusions about them. Besides, it seems like we will be working closely together in the near future and I would like to get to know you better."

Vincent turned to Sephiroth with a puzzled look. "Are they sending you to the summit? I thought Commander Rhapsodos had been assigned to represent Soldier."

The elevator came to a stop before Sephiroth could reply and the doors opened on Vincent's floor. He stopped them with his hand while awaiting the General's response.

"It appears so," Sephiroth said. "But it's best not to discuss it here. My invitation?"

Feeling increasingly curious, Vincent nodded. "Dinner would be fine, if you don't mind. Like I said, I can't skip any more meals. Where and when would you like to meet?"

Sephiroth smiled, clearly pleased. "My quarters at half past seven would be fine."

The Turk made a quick mental calculation and nodded slowly. "I should be able to make it. I'll call if I'm running late."

"Don't worry. I'm quite free after seven so waiting for you will be no imposition."

With a last nod, Vincent let the door go. He waited until the elevator closed and started moving again before going to his office. He sat on his chair and slumped forward on his desk, resting his forehead on its cool surface. He knew he wasn't getting a fever but he felt abnormally warm. A thought occurred to him then and he felt a flash of panic.

Chaos, he called in his mind. Chaos, are you awake?

I am now, Chaos's rumbling voice echoed in Vincent's head. What is it?

Do we even get sick anymore?

Not if I can help it, no. Why are you asking?

It's probably nothing, but… I'm just feeling warmer than usual but I don't feel a fever coming.

Hmm. I'll check, all the same. There might be a bug trying to nest somewhere.

Thanks. Sorry for waking you up.

Don't mention it. Just go to work and leave the rest to me.

Work. Right. He had tons of it and letting it pile up wasn't an option. He straightened in his chair and unlocked his computer to bring up the files he had to send to Lazard. Within five minutes, he was immersed in the security proposals and shut out everything else around him.